Public tenders offer enormous opportunities. The public sector is a stable and reliable client that often awards long-term and financially attractive projects. Significant growth opportunities open up for companies that successfully navigate the complex tendering processes. For small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, winning a public tender can mean a breakthrough into a new market and lay a solid foundation for future business relationships.
But how do you master the challenges of public procurement and make the most of the opportunities it presents? Careful preparation and a strategic approach are crucial. In this article, we present seven essential tips that will help increase your chances of success in public tenders and establish yourself as a reliable partner in the public sector.
Preparation is key
1. Analyze needs
Before participating in a public tender, comprehensive preparation is essential. The first step is a thorough market analysis. The needs of public bodies may differ from your previous business contacts in the private sector.
So, make sure there's demand for your product or service in the public sector. Identify which department or level (municipal, state, federal, EU) is expected to have the greatest demand.
Also explore the competitive landscape. Which other providers are already active in the market and have already collaborated with the relevant public authorities? A unique selling proposition can be crucial to distinguishing yourself from the competition and attracting the attention of public contracting authorities.
2. Familiarize yourself with public procurement
The way you place orders in public sector The process of winning a contract differs significantly from that in the private sector. This is primarily due to the requirements of public procurement law, which applies specifically to the public sector and largely regulates the procurement process. Therefore, it is important to develop an understanding of the structures and processes in public procurement. This not only helps avoid formal errors in the bidding process but also better understands the specific needs and expectations of public contracting authorities.
The Competence Center for Innovative Procurement of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy offers companies, for example, with a free e-learning a well-founded introduction to the topic.
3. Plan time buffers
Participating in public tenders requires patience and perseverance. Therefore, plan sufficient time to carefully fulfill all tender requirements. Experience shows that the process becomes more efficient with each successful tender. You can develop standards and process routines that reduce your effort for future bids.
Enter your company in relevant prequalification directories such as the Official Directory of Prequalified Companies (AVPQ) of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry or in DTAD's directory of entrepreneurs and suppliers If you work in the construction industry, the Association for the Prequalification of Construction Companies a suitable contact point.
These lists offer the advantage that your suitability and the absence of any grounds for exclusion have already been verified. This significantly reduces the effort required for future tenders and can increase your chances of success, as public contracting authorities can access these verified lists.
4. Contact us proactively and early
To further increase your chances of success, it is crucial to raise your company's visibility and awareness of relevant public sector solutions early on – outside of active tender phases. This can be achieved through targeted marketing measures tailored to the needs and requirements of potential clients.
Public contracting authorities are often faced with the challenge of having to specify requirements or describe their functionality before issuing a tender. They usually acquire the necessary product knowledge through market research. Sometimes they also seek solutions that do not yet exist on the market. Therefore, market research and contacting companies are important strategic tools for public authorities in preparing a tender. Public procurement law permits contact with companies if there is a legitimate interest and in standardized and documented processes.
To make yourself known to public clients, you can, for example, register free of charge on the KOINNOvationsplatz of the Competence Center for Innovative Procurement and present your company and your product or service on the Marketplace of Innovations introduce.
Particularly relevant are the so-called "requirements" in the specialist departments. In many cases, they are the users of the product and initiate procurement by communicating their requirements to the contracting authorities. The task of market research and the resulting service description often lies with the specialist departments. This is where you, as a company, come into play and can publicize your solutions through target group marketing.
Adapt offer to public tenders
5. Check criteria
Be sure to read all tender documents and requirements carefully and ensure that your offer meets all the required criteria. The eligibility and award criteria are a kind of checklist that must be covered in the offer. At the same time, the added value for the public sector and the unique selling proposition of the solution should be clearly highlighted. The following can help you prepare your offer: Commissioned advisory centers the Chambers of Industry and Commerce, which are represented in every federal state.
If you notice anything in the tender documents, both in terms of content and form, that is unclear, incomprehensible, or incorrect, it is advisable to submit a bidder question. All bidder questions and the contracting authority's answers will be made available and published to all parties involved in accordance with the principle of transparency.
6. Language of the offers
The offer should be tailored as precisely as possible to the requirements of the tender. Therefore, avoid general or standardized sales documents that you also use in B2B sales. If you use anglicisms or technical terms in your offer, explain them where appropriate.
There are service providers who revise tender documents both linguistically and content-wise to ensure they meet the client's needs. If you plan to roll out your product in the public sector, this can be a worthwhile investment for getting started. However, it's often sufficient to read tender documents for practice purposes to familiarize yourself with the most important terms and requirements.
7. Building references through smaller projects
To win public contracts, suitable reference projects are required. These demonstrate that companies have already mastered similar tasks. For clients, they provide proof that the company can complete the contract.
Start with smaller projects to build credentials in the public sector. Public procurement authorities can purchase services through direct contracts up to a certain contract value (varies by state; see the German Regulation on the Sub-Threshold Procurement (UVgO)), without a complex tender process. You can stay below the threshold, for example, by offering only a partial solution of your product or a licensing model.
Additionally, it's possible to gain experience as part of a bidding consortium or as a subcontractor. These projects help you familiarize yourself with the specific requirements and processes of the public sector and provide a foundation for qualifying for larger tenders.
Further information, tips and resources to help startups and young SMEs tap into the public sector can also be found in the KOINNO Playbook.
